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Google’s latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich distribution numbers show its user base has grown by 2.9% since April, to a total of 7.1% - a 40% increase in one month.

Google publishes its monthly Android distribution figures on its developer website. While Gingerbread still owns the show with almost 65% of devices using this platform, Ice Cream Sandwich is showing steady growth. This is probably due to aftermarket ICS updates for some phones and the launch of Android 4.0 devices like the HTC One X, HTC One S, HTC One V. The percentage is only going to grow.

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Android 4.0’s market share at this point could also been seen as a disappointment. By now, ICS should have started to eat away at Gingerbread’s market domination. Blame it on device manufacturers and cell carriers for dragging their feet on updating older phones and not installing it on new phones once it was released.

In some cases, the neglect is understandable. There are cheaper smartphones and older models still selling as new that don’t have the hardware to run ICS. Those low-end Android devices still account for the majority of the Android user base, and Gingerbread is still a great OS. It looks like Android 4.0 distribution will continue to grow but not at the expense of Gingerbread.

RIM finally made its commitment to the release of a beta version of its 2.1 PlayBook OS official. BlackBerry PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley confirmed from his Twitter page that a beta would be out by the end of May.

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There haven’t been any details made available, so until you get your hands on the 2.1 beta, you’ll know just as much as the rest of us. If you’re signed up as a BlackBerry developer, you can get the update on your device after its release.

Verizon has finally given the official word that their testing of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is complete, and the Android 4.0.4 update (build IMM76K) is good to go. We’re still waiting for Verizon to get the update to customers, but their sharing of the news means we’ll have it very soon.

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I’m glad that Verizon finally got this update approved, but Galaxy Nexus owners should expect more of the same with future updates. Google will announce their Android 4.1 upgrade next month and it will hit the GSM Galaxy Nexus shortly, and then Verizon subscribers with the CDMA/LTE Galaxy Nexus will be left waiting for months before Verizon approves it.

This build was first leaked in early May and appeared on Google’s servers again just last week. If you already flashed this, you have the same version that is going out to all customers.

The UK retailer Phones4U has posted more information on the limited edition Batman-themed Nokia Lumia 900, whose launch was just announced by Nokia this week. Phones4U says they are the only retailer in the U.K. that will offer the smartphones. If you’re interested in owning one, you’d better get a move on. Phones4U will only be selling 900 of them.

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This Lumia 900 edition comes with a Dark Knight Rises app for access to themed wallpapers, ringtones and a special "Claim Gotham City" challenge where you can earn Foursquare bonuses for checking in at designated locations.

Samsung has put out some entertaining commercials showing lines of iPhone-obsessed hipsters who’ll buy anything Apple because they think it makes them look cool. While those commercials were definitely fun, Samsung is sending a big message: Samsung’s products are cool because they are extraordinary, not because they are “Samsung.”

In order to take a chunk out of Apple’s market share, Samsung knows it needs to redefine the way its products are viewed by consumers. The head of Samsung marketing Younghee Lee told AllThingsD in an interview awhile ago,” Especially in U.S., people are obsessed with Apple. It’s time to change people’s attention.” Lee said Samsung knows it has to figure out how to “engage with consumers from the bottom of their heart, and not just be a big and functional and rational and reasonable brand.” Samsung is looking to create an Apple-like fervor for its products.

It looks like Samsung is starting to accomplish its mission. Lines formed outside of a few London retailers earlier this week in anticipation of the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S III. The lines are nothing like the ones formed by Apple devotees, but they are lines nonetheless.

Se the latest Samsung video:

The global launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S 3 is off to an impressive start. It’s getting the attention of the mainstream media, the blogosphere, and social media. Samsung leads the global smartphone market for numbers, now we’ll see if they can create frenzy for everything Samsung.

Apple’s Asian supply chain is having trouble keeping up with the volume of orders for Apple’s next-generation MacBook, according to a recent report by Digitimes. They say multiple unnamed sources are telling them that heavier than expected MacBook orders have created labor shortages so serious that some Asian suppliers have had to outsource orders to meet shipment deadlines.

Apparently May and June are typically slower months among Chinese companies that supply PC components, and Apple’s orders have caused recent labor shortage issues to grow more serious.

The world is waiting anxiously for the new MacBook laptops and iMac all-in-one PCs to hit the market this summer. Apple’s new notebook computers are supposed to be thinner than older models. Both the MacBook Pro and iMac devices are expected to include new high-definition Retina displays. Apple’s next-generation MacBook Air laptops may be updated with Retina displays as well.

Just a few weeks ago, we heard that Apple would probably be replacing Google Maps with its own version. For a long time, Apple has been working on their own in-house 3D-equipped program, and trying to get it ready for the upcoming iOS 6. Now, the street has pictures to prove they might be close to getting it done.

We obtained blurry photos has that supposedly show Apple's new iOS 6 Maps application running on an iDevice. (However, the pictures are such poor quality that they could also just be super close-ups of a Google Images screen shot.

Here are some of the details we’re hearing about the new app:

It features a refreshed user interface including a brand new navigation bar.

It may have a silver colored theme in iOS 6 like on the iPad.

The iPhone version of Maps will have a floating locate me button in the bottom left corner. To access 3D mode, peel back the lower right corner of Maps (just like the current version) and enable 3D mode. Switch in and out of 3D mode by tapping a 3D icon in the lower left corner.

Since 2009, Apple has acquired companies that could help them put together their own maps app including Google Maps' competitor Placebase, mapping company Poly9, and C3 Technologies, that specializes in 3D mapping.

Apple has already made moves away from Google Maps. In March, they started using OpenStreetMap, an open mapping service, with its iOS iPhoto app in place of Google Maps (after Google began charging businesses for access to its digital mapping services). Maybe that’s what they’re building upon. The BGR photos allegedly showing Apple's iOS 6 Maps app look a lot like those provided by OpenStreetMap.

Here’s hoping Apple will give us a lot more information on its plans at the 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts on Monday, June 11.

It looks like Facebook is ready to expand its product offerings with something completely different – a smartphone. Facebook has reportedly hired a group of former Apple engineers to try again to build a Facebook-brand smartphone.

The New York Times reports that the ex-Apple employees consist of former hardware and software engineers who worked on the iPhone 4S and one engineer who worked on the New iPad/ iPad 3.

Why are Mark and his publicly-traded company working on a Facebook phone again? An anonymous source inside Facebook apparently told this to the Times, “Mark is worried that if he doesn’t create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms.”

The Facebook smartphone rumor mill had been quite for some time, and a study conducted earlier this year found that most consumers wouldn’t be interested in a Facebook smartphone anyway. The previous rumor that Facebook was close to having its own phone apparently was greatly exaggerated.

The closest Facebook got to its own smartphone the last time was when HTC launched a pair of low-end smartphones with dedicated Facebook sharing buttons, but nothing near a Facebook-branded device.

The Samsung Galaxy S 3 goes on sale in Europe next week, but all those of us in the U.S. and Canada want to know is, where is ours?

If Samsung and the carriers aren't talking, maybe we can take a cue from David Beren of TmoNews who posted a summary of T-Mobile’s launch plans for the next couple months. His list indicates that the 16GB and 32GB metallic blue versions of the Galaxy S III could launch as soon as June 20th.

Although there will be a 16GB ceramic white version of the S 3, the list shows that device won’t hit the market until July 11th. That apparently is the same date that T-Mobile gets both the Galaxy Note - Samsung's 5.3-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid, and the myTouch device from Huawei.

Given that TmoNews is usually pretty good with its predictions, maybe we’ll be hearing some kind of official announcement soon.

We still haven’t heard who will carry the Galaxy S 3 in the U.S., but odds are good it will be available at least through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

With all the positive buzz about Samsung the company and its Samsung Galaxy S 3 device, it’s no wonder everyone is itching to get their hands that 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 1,280-by-720 display, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera that runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

While cell phones are evolving to become one of our most valuable devices in our mobile lifestyle ... more and more cell phones are being damaged by water than any other way. To this end, user's have clamoring for a completely waterproof protective cell phone case.

Otterbox has responded to market needs with news of the June 24th release of their new Armor series cell phone case for iPhone 4S. This new Armor cell phone case is designed to be dust proof, drop proof, waterproof and crush proof, thus offering topmost protection.

Otterbox has built a solid reputation for providing the safest cell phone cases on the market, their Defender and Commuter series of cases have won wide acclaim for delivering superior protection against the elements of the daily hustle and bustle. The Otterbox Armor series is the pinnacle of protection, as demonstrated in the following video:

A strong competitor, Lifeproof also offers cell phone cases designed on their trademark 'Four Proofs' - that is waterproof, dirtproof, snowproof and shockproof. You can rest assured that the Lifeproof cases are designed to be a total solution for protecting your iPhone 4S from the elements as can be seen in the following video:

The race is now on... which of these two top brands will be first to market a waterproof/shockproof cell phone cases for the BlackBerry and Android smart phones such as: